Container



H. K. POWELL Aug. 31 1937.

CONTAINER Filed June 4, 1934 Patented A... 31, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIdE Manhattan Company, a corporation of New York, trustees for Gibson Patent Containers,

Ltd., a corporation Australia of New, South Wales,

Application June 4, 1934, Serial No. 728,914 5 Claims. (01. 229-55) The present invention pertains to collapsible containers of the type customarily constructed of fibrous material .such as pasteboard, and has particular reference to improvements in the construction of such containers which will enable the user to erect or set up the container from collapsed condition without the necessity of employing separate binding means, such as metallic bands and the like.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a-fibrous container which may be shipped from the manufacturer to the user in flattened or collapsed condition and which maybe erected or set up by the user with ease.

An additional object is to provide a collapsible tubular container having a minimum number of parts, and a method of erecting the container.

A further object is the provision. of a collapsible container having .a bottom of such structure that it may be composed entirely of fibre board or like material.

A still further object is toprovide a collapsible container having a body portion and a bottom section provided with interlocking elements operable to form'a secure union without the use of additional holding means.

These and other objects will be apparent from a. consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention and by reference to the accompanying drawing,

in which Fig. l is a view of a round or tubular container constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken along line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the bottommember used in my improved container;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of a modified form of 'bottom mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention, the view being taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 6; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 66 of Fig. 5,

Inaccordance with my invention, I provide a fibre container which may be constructed completely of fibre board or similar material. As shown in the drawing, the container is constructed by suitably cutting and scoring a blank .to form a. body portion 10 of tubular form. Preferably, this body portion has a plurality of collars H along its upper edge, which are folded down, as shown in Fig. to add strength'to the top of the container. The body portion is generally stamped or otherwise cut from a single 'blank of material, and. the free ends of the body portion II! are folded over and secured together by wire staples l2 or other suitable means. Prior to securing the longitudinal edges of the body portion together, the fiat blank is provided with a series of longitudinal score lines l3 which impart to the body portion a tubular form upon applying the. staples l2. For shipping and storing purposes-the body portion customarily is collapsed ,along diametrically opposite score lines to form a flattened container. To restore the a tubular shape of the body portion, it merely is necessary to again distend the walls,,the longitudinal score .lines regular shape.

The score lines l3 also function to preserve the proper shape of the container when the latter insuring a container of is filled with ice cream and subjected ,to a freezand 3, the tongues are tapered to a blunt point, i

and when rotated inwardly into horizontal position are spaced apart a substantial distance. In practice, it is found desirable to extend the tongues it between score lines of the body portion. That is..the base of the' tongues It extends from one score line to another. Of course, it will be understood that additional score lines may be provided in the body portion between the extreme edges of the tongue. For example, it often will be found desirable to provide the body 'portion with alongitudinal score line meeting the tongue portions at its center..

In accordance with. my invention, a bottom structure is provided which will form an interlock with the tongue portions II, this interlock being sufficiently stable to allow the container to i be filled with a heavy commodity, such as ice cream, without danger of-losing the-commodity through destruction of the bottom. Furthermore, I have provided a container which may be readily set up or erected from collapsed condition by the user without the application of holding means such as staples or glue. The invention is based upon my discovery that if the bottom member is constructed so as to fit into the container it maybe provided with interlockingtfi tion. If desired, the releasable locking means so provided may be unsecured to again collapse the container. A particularly important feature of the construction is that it does not require metallic bands or the like which have been used heretofore with containers of this type.

' The bottom member l5, as shown in Figs. 2, 3. and 4, is constructed of a rounddisc of fibrous material. At its outer portion the disc is provided with a ring-like supported shelf l6 which is joined to the main portion of the bottom member by means of projections II, the latter being spaced apart a suflicient distance to provide tongue-receiving openings I8, as shown in Fig. 4. It will be seen that thebottom member II is of a diameter substantially the same as that of the inside diameter of the body portion. To erect the container from collapsed condition the body portion is distended into substantially tubular form and the tongues or fingers H are rotated inwardly and upwardly to such a position that the free ends of the tongues are spaced from the.

inner wall of the body portion a distance equal to that of the distance of the openings II from the body portion. Bottom member. I5 then is pressed downwardly in the container, whereby the tongues l4 pass through the openings II from the under side thereof. Pressure on the bottom portion is continued until it has assumed a position substantially as shown in Fig. 3, that is, with the bottom member adjacent the lower edge of the body portion. As the bottom member is pressed downwardly, the tongues I4 are rotated toward horizontal position by the engagement therewith of the outer rings l8, and the tongues 0 reach their maximum distance of protrusion through the openings I! when the tongues are in substantially horizontal position.

It also is possible to erect the container by mtating the tongues inwardly and pressing the 5 bottom disc l5 upwardly from the bottom of the body portion until the fingers or tongues ll are released from engagement with the bottom portion and snap outwardly, to be engaged in the openings l8. However, the first method of erec- 5 tion probably is more desirable with this particular type of container since the disc I! is of substantially the same diameter as the'inside diameter of the container and when pressed upwardly from the bottom of the container the disc frictionally engages the tongues.

ducing the diameter of the bottom member II, this objection is removed. In certain instances, the bottom member itself may be employed to rotate the tongues inwardly. Where the tongues initially are rotated inwardly so that the projections of the tongues are beyond the openings l8, relative movement may be produced between the bottom member 15 and the body portion of the container to complete the rotation of the tongues. 5 into a position at which the tongues may be projected through the openings II from the inside thereof.

When in the erected position shown in Figs. 2,

a, and 4, it will be seen that the container has'a 0 simple yet. rigid-bottom construction in which the ring l6 of the bottom member overrides the base portion of the tongues, and the inner ends of the tongues ll override the bottommember Ii, thereby forming a releasable interlocking 7 mechanism.

By slightly re- To complete the closure it is desirable to employ a second or inner bottom member I! which is positioned adjacent the bottom member I5 and closely fitted against the walls of the body portion. This inner bottom member may be of slightly greater diameter than the normal diameter of the inside of the body portion. When the inner bottom member I9 is pressed into a position adjacent the outer bottom member l5, whichis interlocked with the body portion as described, the container is provided with an exceedingly strong and simple bottom structure. Those portions of the outer bottom member l5 which override the tongues H prevent the bottom memberfrom being pressed outwardly when a load is placed in the container, and those por-.

tions of the tongues which override the bottom member prevent the tongues from being rotated downwardly out of engagement with the bottom portion when a load is placed in'the container. It is evident that the structure described provides a mutual interlocking between the body portion and the bottom member, and with this method of interlocking the projecting elements of the body portion with the projecting elements of the body member, the bottom ofthe container is fiat, free from projections, simple, high and strong. The inner bottom member I! also has a function of preventing the outer bottom member ll and-the tongues ll from being pressed upwardly to again collapse the container. In certain instances it will be found sufiicient to omit this bottom disc, the commodity placed in the container acting to maintain the outer bottom member and tongues in proper position, but I have found that the disc It adds considerably to the strength of the bottom structure; distributing the weight of a commodity placed in the container and concentrating the downward pressure against the bottom along the base portions of the tongue members I.

In the modification of myinvention, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the body portion ID of the container is provided with inwardly extending tongues 20 of greater width than the tongues I described previously. The tongues 20 are provided with openings 2| at a point spaced from the body portion of the container to provide an outer projection-supporting shelf. The bottom member 22 of the container is adapted to be received within the body portion and has a series of projections 22 along its periphery, these projections being adapted to project through the openings 2| in the tongues 20 from the under side thereof. The bottom member 22 has a diameter,-exclusive of the projections 23, substantially equal to the distance between opposite openings 2|, as will be seen from Fig. 5, and the projections 22 extend adjacent the body portion of the container. To erect this modified form of my improved container, the tongues 20 on the body portionare rotated inwardly and upwardly and the bottom member 22 is pressed upwardly within the container until the projections 23 snap into place through the under side of the openings 2 I. The bottom member then is moved downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 6, in which the projections 23 override the base pertions oftongues 20, and the free ends of tongues 20 override the bottom member 22, thereby forming the same type of supporting means as described heretofore. For ease of operation in erecting the container, the projections 23 are cut away, as shown in Fig. 5, so that the bottom member may be pressed upwardly within the '5 and moving the body member downwardly from I thereabove until the projections 23 engage with openings 2|, whereupon the downward movement is continued until. the final position shown in Fig. 6 is reached. When relative movement 10 is. produced between the body portion of the container and the bottom member 22 ,for interlock of the respective elements, the projections 23 are not necessarily in alignment with the openings 2|. When the proper degree of relative movement has been produced, the body portion or the bottom member 22 may be rotated to produce the desired alignment, whereupon the projections 23 snap into the openings 2! by reason of the natural resilience of the materials from which the container is constructed. However,

this alignment may be produced prior to the relative movement of the parts. As shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the modified container also desirably has an inner bottom member ll positioned adia- 25 cent the outer bottom member and fitted snugly against the walls of the body portion.

Changes in the structure'describedhereinbefore for purposes of illustration and explanation are possible without departing from the scope of my invention and all such changes and variations are intended to be included in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A container of the type described, comprising a fibre body portion provided with vertically extending score lines and a series oi" juxtaposed tongues hinged-at one end thereof and extending between score lines, said tongues being tapered and of substantially the samelength, and a bot- 40 tom member of such size as to fit within said body portion, said bottom member being provided with a series of openings spaced inwardly from its periphery for. receiving each of said tongue .members when the bottom member is in upward- 4; 1y raisedposition within said body portion. 2. A container of the type described, comprising a fibre body portion havinga series of juxtaposed tongue members hinged adjacent one end thereof, and a bottom member ofsuch size and shape as to be insertable andto fit snugly within the interior of the body portion when thelatter is in erect condition, said bottom member having tongue interlocking openings surrounded by the material of said bottom member and spaced from the'outer edge thereof to forma rim portion adjacent'the body portion of the container, and said openings being of such size and placement to receive each of said tongue members'from the under side of said bottom member when the latter is in upwardly raised position within said body portion and to form an interlock with said tongue members when the bottom mem- .ber is-moved downwardly toward the hinged portions of said tongues.

3. A container of the type described, comprising a fibre body member having longitudinally fextendingscore lines permitting collapse of said ,5

body member into flat position, a bottom member of such size and shape as to be insertable within the interior of said body member when the latter is in erect position, said bottom member having a plurality of tongue interlocking openings'sur- 1'0 rounded by the material of said bottom member and spaced from the outeredge thereof to form a rim portion adjacent the body portion of the container, and tongue members hinged from the body member and securing said bottom member in assembled set-up position by insertion of each of said tongue members through said openings, eachof said tongues being of such size and shape;

as to be insertable within said openings when the bottom member is in upwardly raised position within said body member and to form an interlock therewith when said bottom member is moved downwardly toward the hinged portions of said tongues, inwhich'positions said tongues passbelow said rim portion and through said openings to overridesaid bottom member inwardly of said openings. r a

4. A container of the type described, compri ing a body member having a series of tongue members hinged adjacent the ;lower portion thereof and forming an outer closure portion, and a bottom member forming an inner closure portion of suchsize and-shape as tobe insertable within said body member when the latter is in erect condition, one of said closure portions having a series of interlocking openings surrounded 1 by the material thereof, and spaced from the body member and the other of said closure portions having projecting sections of such size and shape as to be insertable within said closed openings when said bottom member is in upwardly v raised position within said body member and to form an interlock when said bottom member is moved downwardly toward the hinged portions of said tongues. '45 5. A containerof the t p described, compris- 7 ing a body member having a series of tongue members hinged adjacent the lower portion thereof, said tongues being rotatable inwardly and having openings surrounded by the material of said tongues and being spaced from the hinged portion thereof, and a bottom member of such size and s'hape'as'to be insertable within said body member when the latter is in erect position, said bottom member having projections of such size and shape as to be insertable within said closed openings when said bottom member is in upwardly raised position within said body member and to form an interlock therewith when said bottom member is moved downwardly toward the hinged portions of said tongues. HENRY K. POWEIL. 

